Through Fire And Flames
by Angel Of Broadway
Summary: There's a new girl at school. She doesn't know anything about Duncan's secret, and he's determined to keep it that way. When the threats of kaijuu attacks act up, will he be able to keep it all together, or will the the fire inside him unleash?


BoB: So...I know, I know, I'm procrastinating on Tales From The Labyrinth. I have good reason, though. I am addicted to Firebreather, and I am _in love _with Duncan. Yes, I know he's a cartoon character, but I really could care less. So, me and my amazingly creative friend Lala came up with this little piece of happiness. Y'all know what to do once you finish reading-review, review, review!

Disclaimer: Beauty Of Broadway and Jacob's Lala do not, in any way, own Firebreather, it's plot, or it's characters. If we did, however, there would be much more of Duncan shirtless.

**Through Fire And Flames**

The boys sat down at their usual table, heads immediately turning to Isabel. Duncan arched a brow and kept his eyes on her as she wrote some more information about his kind in her journal, and Kenny started picking at his food, unphased. After all, he had dealt with her kaijuu fascination for years before Duncan arrived at the school-it wasn't much different, except the fact that she now had a test subject to work all her theories out on.

"So, I've noticed that your eyes change color a lot," Isabel intervened, finally taking her eyes off the paper in front of her. "They're like mood rings...but they're eyes."

Duncan rolled said 'mood rings', but he couldn't help the smile that came onto his face. "You've got such an interesting outlook on things."

"What can I say? I'm just gifted with amazing perception," she laughed.

Kenny, having been quiet through the exchange, frowned and muttered, "That perception of yours isn't too good. If it was, you'd be able to see that I'm the one you should've had a dance with."

Isabel, usually so loud and full-of-words, looked back down at her notebook. She took her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it, while Duncan took advantage of the awkward silence to sweep his eyes across the room.

Though he had become quite popular throughout the campus, not many people had the nerves to come and sit at his table. Fear, confusion, a sense of superiority...there were many reasons, but he didn't care much anymore. He felt fine talking to his real friends-his "super squad", as Isabelle had dubbed them.

So that's why, when his gaze landed on the chair a couple down from Isabel's, Duncan froze. In the place of a usually empty space was a girl-one he had never seen before.

She had shoulder-length black hair, and didn't seem to be to tall, considering how slumped over the table she was. Her eyes-which he couldn't tell the color of from so far away-darted from one corner of the cafeteria to another, and then down at the table. Duncan couldn't help but notice the way her thin lips moved gently, and it took him a while to figure out that she was reciting something quietly to herself.

"Ah, so you've noticed her, huh? Took you long enough!" Isabel shouted. Kenny kept eating, ignoring the stares that her voice drew.

"Uh, long enough?" Duncan questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "I've been waiting for you to notice her. You need some...friends in your life-besides us amazing people, and she's lonely." There was an undercurrent to her statement; Duncan, curious as ever, still let it slide.

"So you know her. And you haven't introduced her to us...why?"

"I was waiting for you to make the first move. And before you say anything, the term 'ladies first' does not apply here," Isabel scolded playfully, already knowing that he was planning on unleashing his over-used lines.

"She seems busy. I'm not going to interrupt her."

"She wants you to. Trust me, she does."

"She doesn't even know me."

"She knows enough," Isabel lied smoothly.

"I doubt very much that she does."

Isabel rolled her eyes, leaning across the table. Of _course_ he would be touchy about what people really knew about him. "Do you want to know about her? I can tell you anything. Favorite color, favorite song, what she's like..."

"Her name, please," Duncan sighed, trying not to let his impatience get the best of him.

She sat back in her chair and took a long look at the new girl before reporting, "Emily."

"Emily," Duncan repeated, the name seeming to slip easily from between his lips, to which Isabel showed her full-on smirk. "How do you know her?"

"She's my cousin," Isabel shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

Duncan's jaw dropped in shock. "Cousin? She's your cousin, and you're just letting her sit there by herself? Let her meet us!"

"Meh, she's busy. She'll come when she can."

If Duncan didn't look perplexed before, he did now. "Didn't you just say she wasn't busy?" he asked, glad he didn't take her up on the offer of introducing himself.

"She's reading. It's busy to her, not to me," Isabel said, slowly hiding the book she was indulged in under the table. When Duncan scoffed challengingly, she sighed in exasperation. "She'll kill me if I interrupt her little fantasy world of vampires and monsters."

_Monsters?_ Duncan wondered to himself. "So you'd rather I get myself killed? That's why you want me to do it?"

"Hey, you're a man. Well...sort of. You can handle it." Taking another look at her cousin, though, she added, "On second thought, don't even try it."

He looked at Emily again before throwing a small, smug smile at Isabel. "I'll take my chances," he said, deciding that leaving the girl there wouldn't make a good impression.

Before he could do anything, though, a cynical voice rang out, "I can hear everything you're saying, you know."

"I know you can. And you choose now to speak up?" Isabel asked, her head turning.

Emily shrugged, sliding her chair over to where the others were sitting. The half-kaijuu could now see that her eyes were a bright green, much more brilliant than Jenna's grey-green.

"When you start talking about me and my personal life, I get involved." Her eyes flickered to Duncan. "And just so you know, she's right. If you interrupted me... Well, let's just say I have some mean reflexes," she promised with a devious grin. And within an instant, the apple that had been on his tray was now in her hand, a large bite taken out of it.

"Yeah, Emily's kind of a ninja," Isabel reported, stifling a laugh at the astonished look on the boys' faces. She turned to her cousin and threw her a wink, while Emily proudly sat back and munched away at her prize.

"Impressive. But I bet you're reflexes aren't as impressive as Duncan's," Kenny said, his face holding no emotion. The firebreather turned to his friend and studied him, wondering where this was all going. "He's got some pretty cool moves."

"Oh yeah? What kind of _moves_ do you have?" Emily questioned challengingly, eyes flickering between the boys.

Before Duncan could reply, Kenny interrupted with, "The kind that makes you question what is and isn't possible."

Emily rolled her eyes and wiped at her mouth, obviously not fooled. Meanwhile, Duncan and Isabel both shot Kenny exasperated looks, who then replied with an oblivious, "What?"

"Before I question what those looks mean-remember, I'm right here, I can see everything-what exactly do you mean by that, ...?"

"Kenny."

Emily nodded and turned to Duncan, impatient for an answer. Instead of replying with something that would ease the girl's stubbornness, though, a small grin made its way onto his face and he smoothly asked, "What kind of moves do you have?"

Instead of Emily taking the time to think about it -something he would have preferred happening, as a distraction from what Kenny had said-she leaned over the table with a grin, her arms crossed under her chest. "Oh, only the kind that makes even the scariest of monsters get down on their knees and beg for mercy."

Duncan's eyes widened and he turned to Isabel, who in turn, shrugged, a smile building on her face. "What happened to that fiery personality of yours, Duncan? Say something back." He sighed and sat back in his chair, and when Emily wasn't looking, the bespectacled girl shot Duncan yet another look, this one clearly screaming,

"Well? I'm waiting," Emily reminded him smugly

The whole table sat there, motionless for a few seconds. Duncan took in Emily's appearance: the look of 'I won' on her face, and the triumphant smirk. He sorely wanted to say she wouldn't be able to make _him_ beg for mercy, but he wasn't even going to reveal that part of him to her. She may have been related to Isabel, but that was no reason he could trust her.

"I dunno, we've got our share of monsters here. And I doubt you'd be able to make _Belloc _beg for mercy," he replied with a shrug.

Isabel-usually the one that caused the staring-had her jaw gaping open. Kenny turned fully in his chair to give Duncan a look of confusion. The firebreather kept a smile on his face, but wasn't too thrilled with what came out of his mouth. _I probably went too far...but she'll never know anyways. Harmless._

Emily almost looked taken back, but then with a small chuckle, she tossed the apple back at Duncan. "Shame that he isn't here to prove it," she said, nodding with an impressed look. "But you got me there. That was good."

"Almost too good," Isabel agreed, sighing in irritation as she turned to Duncan, mentally conveying the words 'What the hell?' at him.

Duncan shrugged, relieved that she hadn't taken him too seriously. Revealing to the new girl what he really was probably wasn't exactly the best way to start a friendship, regardless of whether she'd be as much of a fangirl as her cousin.

There was a small part of him that worried in silence, though.

After all, only about ten minutes into meeting each other had Duncan found out that Emily was quite intelligent. Her quick-witted responses, much like Isabel's, had given him a clear insight on that. The activities she indulged in suggested that she wasn't into the normal 'pretty in pink' things that most females at that school were obsessed with, and that left Emily with a very diverse list of interests, one of which being monsters. Who's to say she wouldn't dedicate herself to the local legends and myths, especially with all the hints Duncan was dropping?

_Aw, crap, please tell me she won't piece it together from the little hints..._

"Hey, you're out of it again. Does he do that a lot?" Emily questioned, shoving the book she had been reading earlier into a large black canvas bag hanging from her shoulder.

Isabel nodded. "Just get used to it." _I'm saving your butt here, Duncan. I expect a full report on just what happened after the dance tomorrow._

Emily arched a brow. "So there's no chance of him letting go of the dang habit?"

"Unfortunately, no."

The voice, though, didn't come from anyone at the table. Almost simultaneously, all four heads turned, meeting the innocent, sweet smile of the local student body president-Jenna. With her looks and popularity throughout the school, it was almost impossible not to be elected leader of the homecoming committee. Of course, it was a surprise that she was still in the top spot...after the money had disappeared the last time.

Kenny didn't stare for too long-in fact, he went right back to eating and taking a peek at Isabel's notes. Duncan caught Emily and her cousin whispering quietly to each other, and from the way they were looking around, it wasn't hard to guess what they were talking about. Or that Emily had already known about Jenna.

The blonde took a seat beside Duncan, her fingers quickly threading themselves around his hand. "Well, I guess I'll be the first to introduce myself. I'm-"

"Jenna, I know. I'm Emily," the brunette said, deliberately ignoring the gesture of Jenna sticking her free hand out. She managed to brush it off with a cool smile, and leaned back. "So, what were you saying about Duncan? You apparently know him very well."

Confusion flashed across the firebreather's face as he heard a slight undercurrent to her words-jealousy?

"Oh, Duncan here? He's a bit of a space-case," Jenna replied sweetly, not seeing the glare she had received from Isabel. "But I'm sure he was thinking about me. Weren't you?" She turned to the subject of their conversation, knowing he wouldn't possibly be thinking of anything else.

Duncan bit his lip, unsure how to respond-if he agreed, Isabel would want to smack him. If he didn't, there went all chances with the blonde who was running her immaculately manicured nails across the back of his hand. "Of course, Jenna," he finally replied. Though he wasn't as crazy about her as before, he did want to prove he was good enough for her.

After all, Jenna had practically been using Duncan to escape from Troy, and that wasn't the most comforting thought...

"I think you're right, actually," Emily started, watching their interaction with mild interest. "Since you came over, Lover-Boy has been all ears. You must have a pretty short leash on him if he jumps to attention as soon as you show up."

Jenna's smile instantly dropped a few watts in brightness, finding herself a bit miffed at the accusation. "Well, maybe Duncan is just happy to see me. We were one of the best couples at homecoming, you know."

"Oh, yes, Isabel told me all about that. Pretty weird, that sudden kaijuu attack, huh?"

Duncan shot a glare at Isabel, who only managed to shrug helplessly. It wasn't as if she had told her cousin _why_ they attacked.

"That was pretty exciting, wasn't it?" Jenna beamed up at her almost-boyfriend, trying to pull his attention back to her.

"I guess it's true that blondes have more fun." A thoughtful look came onto Emily's face as she looked closer at Jenna. "Well, natural blondes, anyways. You might want to get your roots redone."

Without the noise in the rest of the cafeteria, a pin dropping could have been heard as Jenna's face rapidly turned bright red. Kenny and Isabel were fighting to stifle their laughter, and Duncan had a look of shock on his own face as the homecoming queen bolted up out of her chair.

"Duncan!" she nearly screeched, fury in her eyes as she whipped her head down towards him. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Well, um, you probably should get them redone," he started hesitantly, smiling nervously up at her. "I mean, you don't want to look bad."

She stared at him in disbelief before a shrill cry of irritation escaped her, storming away from the table. Meanwhile, Isabel was now in tears from holding back her laughter, while Kenny was not-so-subtlely snickering into his hand.

"Oh my gosh, Em! That was priceless!" Isabel finally managed to choke out, much to Duncan's frustration.

A victorious grin spread across Emily's face as she locked eyes with her cousin. "Hey, you know how I work. If I see something I don't like, my mouth starts running."

"And I'm always entertained when it does," she replied, trying to keep the smile off her face as she took in Duncan's expression.

"Really, your sarcasm and wit is a gift from God," Kenny said in agreement, reaching over to give Emily a high five.

After returning the gesture and exchanging a few words here and there about the 'priceless look' on Jenna's face, the brunette's gaze landed on Duncan. Emily titled her head to the side, an arched brow accompanying her questioning look. "Uh-oh. You don't seem too happy, Lover Boy."

"Oh, he's just worried his chances with Jenna are ruined," Isabel scoffed, crossing her arms. "It's not like they were going to get anywhere, though. He was like her little dog."

Kenny, having joined in on the conversation since the encounter with Jenna, let a small smirk appear on his face. "And we all know how big a down-step that is from Duncan's usual-"

"Alright, enough laughing at my expense," the firebreather quickly interrupted, shooting a glare to his friend with the country singer's name. "This may be funny to all of you-and I'll be the first to admit that I had to hold back a laugh here and there-but it's messed up a lot of things." With that, he stood up, looking towards the door of the cafeteria. "Any idea where Jenna went?"

"Aw, Duncan, lighten up. It was only a joke, so sit down," Isabel nearly commanded of him, before turning to her cousin. "Em, you look kind of pale. Go and get something to eat."

Broken out of her thoughts, Emily shot her the other brunette a look, stating, "I'm always pale." When all she got in return was narrowed eyes, Emily sighed and got up from her chair, heading over to the back of the lunch room.

"Why did she have to leave?"

"So she wouldn't hear me say what I'm about to. Duh," Isabel countered, leaning forward in her chair. "Now listen here, bud. I know you may still be interested in Jenna, but you can't honestly expect me to believe that you want to be with her."

"But I d-"

"Shush. Emily stood up for you, because no guy on this planet wants to be painted as the weak one, and what do you do? Practically act like you're scared of the bi-"

"Izzy..."

"Sorry. The point is, I would appreciate it if you stood up for yourself and took some control. Being the son of Belloc and all, I thought you would be able to at least add some fire to your words. You're seriously letting my theories and research down, you know."

Duncan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of her 'research', calmly asking, "Are you finished?" Isabel nodded, and with that, he stood up. "I'll talk to you later, speak my side and all, but right now Jenna is at the top of my list. I need to go and talk to her, alright?" Without waiting for a response, he left the table.

_Love Izzy and all, but she needs to just mind her own business_, the kaiju thought to himself, looking down at the floors as his head scattered with a million and a half thoughts. He tried to keep the anger in-having been embarrassed, having his life be interfered with, having Jenna control it-and he had been doing great at keeping the fire within him.

That is, until he bumped into a girl, one he hadn't even realized had been walking in front of him.

With a jolt of extreme coldness suddenly running down his chest, Duncan snapped his head up. Emily stood there, her mouth in a wide 'O' and her face white as she stared at his shirt, the cup in her hands slanted at a very steep angle. He looked down at his shirt, only just noticing the cold liquid seeping through his clothes.

"Oh, holy crap, I am so sorry!" she practically squeaked, looking around for something...anything to clean up her mess.

He almost laughed as a strong sense of deja vu hit him, but he managed to keep his amusement bottled up inside of him. "Don't worry about it. I have a change of clothes with me," he told her, stopping her small panic attack. I need to, considering I may burn my clothes off at any second.

She nodded, grateful that she hadn't completely ruined his day, and looked up at him with a sigh. "Again, really sorry. You're leaving so soon?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I need to go-"

"-Talk to Jenna. I get it. Not going to stop you."

As the words left her mouth, Duncan sighed in irritation. He gave Emily a small wave, making his way past her, but she laid a hand on his chest right as he was about to leave. "Listen, if you need anything...I know I'm just the new girl and all, but I'm pretty good at listening."

He looked down at her hand, carefully removing it from his shirt and then letting it drop. As his eyes were glancing downwards, though, he noticed just how wet it had gotten. His white shirt, ruined with the dark liquid that had spilled on it, was now giving a one-way ticket to anyone who wanted to glance upon his bare skin.

Being into sports, he didn't mind the fact that people would be able to see his chest. It was the fact of what was on it, though, that made him stop cold. Somewhere, in all his anger and pent-up frustration, scales had begun to peek out from under his skin. With a sharp intake of breath, he looked up to see her reaction.

Emily didn't seem to notice-she wasn't looking at his chest to begin with-but she was rubbing her fingers together. "Jeez, that soda must've dried really fast. Your shirt's like...really rough..." She looked up at him. "Really, I'm sorry. I'll pay for it if y-"

"No need. I have to go now," he nearly snapped, making his way past her. He ran out into the hallway, miffed at himself that he had just barely given away his secret, and also that he hadn't been able to control himself. _Talking to Jenna can wait... Right now, I need to change_, he thought, racing to his locker, and then, the boy's restroom.

Meanwhile, Emily stood in the center of the cafeteria, watching Duncan run off. With a small shrug of her shoulders-she had seen guys act that strange all the time, she walked back to the table where Kenny and her cousin were waiting.

"I saw Duncan run off. He's really desperate to make things right again, isn't he?" Isabel questioned.

Emily nodded, but then added quietly, "That, and I think the soda I spilled on him is running down his pants as we speak..."

Isabel's eyes shot open, unable to believe the coincidental stroke of luck.

Kenny snickered, thinking along the same lines as the brunette next to him. "Did you manage to uncover anything?"

"Well, I ruined his shirt." She sat down, desperate to take the subject off of her and the clumsiness she had been cursed with, and turned to look at her cousin. "I thought you said he was over Jenna."

She pursed her lips. "Well, you see..."

"You've got to be kidding me! I thought I was 'saving Duncan from his possessive ex'!"

"Alright, alright, calm down," Isabel said, holding her hands up to silence Emily. "I may have spoken too soon... They're not broken up yet, I know, but if there's one thing I know about Duncan, it's that he has a short temper. That, and he's one to dominate, not submit. He'll run away from her in no time."

"You better hope so," Emily muttered. "I may have ruined their relationship, and I'll feel guilty because it'll all be my fault."

"Since when do you feel guilt? Or regret, for that matter?" Isabel questioned, to which Emily punched her in the arm with a scowl. "What? It's true! I mean, come on, tell me that you regret giving Jenna a piece of her mind."

Emily tried to hold back a smile. "Well, I did enjoy that part..."

"See? I know you too well, cuz."

Emily rolled her eyes, turning to look at the door. "You think Duncan's going to stand up to Jenna, or just apologize his little heart out?"

"Well, he hasn't been one for backing away from a challenge," Kenny commented with a mysterious grin, him and Isabelle sharing a knowing look as the pale brunette raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do...you guys know something I don't?" the green-eyed teenager asked skeptically.

"Don't worry about it, Em," her cousin reassured her with a laugh, keeping the secret. For now. "You'll know soon enough."


End file.
